When You Least Expect it
by xxdracos-slytherinxx
Summary: So I guess your on our side now," stated Hermione with a smile gracing her lips. "No," I replied, "I am on your side. It's always been you."
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! This is my first fanfic on this sight. I have been reading for a long time now, and felt that I should contribute something. Actually, that is a lie. You see, I started this story, but didn't know where I was going with it, so I decided to take it down and rewrite it. This is the new rewrite just so you know. **

**Let me know what you think about it. Reviews would be much appreciated considering the fact that I am a new author. I would love to have feedback on this story, and constructive critism is much appreciated. Thanks so much!**

**Anywhoo: I should tell you that last night I had a dream that I was Jk Rowling and that I wrote the Harry Potter series. Alas, when I woke up, I realized that it was not true. I did not write it, so all the characters (and some of the dialogue) belong to her- the fabulous JKR~**

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**Draco's POV:**

"Let us discuss your options, Draco," said Dumbledore

"My Options! I'm standing here with a wand-I'm about to kill you," I shouted

"My dear boy, if you were to kill me, you would have done so already. You would have killed me when you disarmed me, taking my wand."

"I haven't got any options! I have to do this…I got to do this! He'll kill me—He will kill my whole family!" That's what brought me into this mess in the first place. My father's blunder at the Ministry of Magic last year paved the pathway which I am now on. When he failed to bring back the "weapon" which the Dark Lord so desperately desired, the era of the Malfoys being one of Voldemort's favorites ended. In order for us to reprove our loyalty, the Dark Lord sent me on a mission, a mission even I knew was suicide. I knew he had no intention of me completing it, for how could a child defeat, and kill, one of the most powerful, smart, and loved wizards of our time? It was my life or my families.

It was never my intention to serve the Dark Lord; although, everyone expected it. My father expected it, my fellow classmates at school expected it, and my aunt, Bellatrix, certainly expected it, yet it was never the path I wanted, nor would have chosen for myself. Unfortunately, it was not my choice. This was my father's final attempt to regain his status in Voldemort's inner circle of death eaters a position he dearly wanted back. My mother was never keen about this plan. I knew that she made an unbreakable vow with my godfather, Professor Snape, to keep me safe-at any cost-during my mission.

As time passed, I seemed to be traveling further and further away from my goal. I began making risky decisions involving innocent people in order to get the job done. I never wanted for Katie Bell to be cursed by that necklace nor did I want for the weasel to be poisoned no matter how much I seemed to hate him. It was during this time where I began to question the teachings and the expectations which my family laid out for me. Finally, with Dumbledore standing here before me, I knew that I could not go through with this. I wasn't a killer, and I had no intention of becoming one. I realized in that moment was that my only motivation for actually getting this far in my mission was keeping my family safe. Now, I couldn't even do that. Once Voldemort finds out that I could not complete it, all of the Malfoys were as good as dead.

"I appreciate the difficulty of your position, Draco," said Dumbledore. 'Why else do you think I have not confronted you before now? Because I knew that you would have been murdered if Lord Voldemort realized I suspected you. Come over to the right side, Draco, and we can hide you more completely than you can ever possible imagine. I can have the Order of the Phoenix get your mother tonight and likewise, with your father. When the time is right, we will help him escape from Azkaban. Come over to the right side, Draco. You are not a killer."

I felt my wand arm quivering as I thought about what my Head Master just told me. I knew that this would definitely be the best option to not only keep me safe, but also keep my mother safe. His idea was sound. Even I knew that there were spells out there that could keep you safe, even if Voldemort himself was looking for you, yet I was unwilling to give up everything completely. If my family was to be hidden away by the order, I knew that there would be absolutely no chance for me to further my education or see my friends ever again. If we were to go into hiding, it would be in complete seclusion; house arrest in order to keep you safe. In the back of my mind, I knew of a possible solution that could potentially yield positive results. This would not only let me be a member of society-being seen around town, going to school, going to lunch with friends, but it would also benefit the order immensely. I could potentially become a spy for the Order of the Phoenix. I already suspected that the Order had a spy in the death eater's midst already, for many of our plans have been headed off by them. I suspected my own godfather of being this character not because he did not seem like a death eater, no, that was not it at all, but for the very fact that, on occasion, I have seen him show concern for someone—a trait that very few, if any, death eaters possessed. I raised my eyes up to Dumbledore as I whispered my thoughts aloud, "I could be a spy…for your side I mean."

With a piercing look, which seemed to look right into my soul, Dumbledore contemplated what I said. Even he knew how valuable of an asset a spy could be in the Dark Lord's midst. Even if there was already one in there, another could pick up on information that the other had not heard about. Everyone knew that the Dark Lord never told one person his entire plan. I stared directly into Dumbledore's electric blue eyes, anticipating his answer. With a heavy sigh, he answered me

"You know the risks, I trust," he said

"Yes," I replied firmly 'I am fully aware of all that is at stake'

"Then it is done," he replied. 'Harry," he stated, 'you are to bear witness to this. Under no circumstance are you to repeat this to anyone.'

I quickly turned around in my place, searching for the boy who lived. With a nod of his head, Dumbledore quickly flicked off Harry's invisibility cloak, showing where he stood. He subtly nodded, showing he understood before the cloak was replaced.

"There is one other matter here, that I wish to discuss," Dumbledore said, 'what is to become of your father. Am I under the impression that you still wish for him to be in hiding as well?'

I thought about what he said for a moment. His question was a just one. What was I going to do about my father? It would seem very suspicious to him if his son was to be disappearing at odd times in order to tell the Order news of Voldemort. The only logical idea I had was to see if he would like to become a spy as well. The last time I saw him, on a trip to Azkaban with my mother, the look in his eye said that he was beginning to see where all of his choices in life had led him. He was a broken man living with out his wife and son, serving a deranged killer who had no intention of sharing power with anyone. Because of his time in the wizard prison, he was able to really put his life into perspective. He had served Voldemort for over sixteen years, and had very little to show for it, besides a marriage falling to shambles and a strained relationship with his teenage son. When Draco looked into the eyes of his father, he saw an unrecognizable man. He saw someone who desperately wished to right his marriage to a woman he loved dearly, yet neglected to show, and someone who wished to repair the relationship with his son. At some point, that very child had looked up to him, but Draco knew that Lucius could not recall that time any more.

I turned and gazed out of the tower onto the grounds of Hogwarts. "I think that my father could help me-as in he could be a spy with me." I turned and gazed at the Head Master who had a skeptical look in his eye. 'Look, I know you do not think too highly of him what with everything that has happened, but I have seen him recently, and he is not the same person anymore. He is a man who has lost his way, and I think that this could bring him back on to the right path. Think about it: to an extent, Voldemort trusts him. Why would Lucius Malfoy every go against the Dark Lord's orders,' I spat bitterly. 'This could potentially let the order be in on so many more of the death eater's secrets. No one would ever question my father about not being loyal to the Dark Lord. He has proven his loyalty over the years-no one can doubt that.'

"You need to some how send your father a message, coded preferably, telling him of your plan. Do not go into detail. Should your father tell Tom, we will immediately put your mother and yourself into hiding for the rest of the war, however; if your father agrees, then he will definitely be a valuable asset to our side. I hope that everything will be according to plan. You have no doubt already inferred that there is already a spy working in the death eater circle. If, or hopefully when, your father agrees, I will have that spy meet with you and your father in order to go over arrangements. Being as spy is a very difficult task, Draco. You must be able to feed us information without them knowing or becoming suspicious. This could entail, even at some points, letting it slip some of the Order information as well in order to show loyalty and keep your position. I will let our spy go over that with you, however, at a later date.'

With a loud boom, the door to the tower was broken. Dumbledore quickly look towards the sound then turned to me. "Quick," he said 'aim your wand at me.' I did as the professor requested, and just in time. I quickly schooled my face as I was taught by my father, and faced the professor.

Four death eaters quickly made their way into the open of the tower. "Come on, Draco, kill him already," Greyback, the werewolf said. I glanced at him. 'You cant do it," he said to me. 'You are weak.' We all turned as we heard another set of feet running up the steps. In the next instant, Professor Snape stepped into the moonlight and raised his wand

"Severus, Please," pleaded Dumbledore. I could not believe it, Dumbledore was begging for his life. For an instant, Severus looked at the professor with regret in his eyes, but immediately masked it. He lifted his wand, and said the fateful words

"Avada Kedavra!" he shouted, and with a flash of green light, the life of Albus Dumbledore ended. The force of the curse was so strong, that it catapulted the body over the battlements-landing on the grounds below. 'Come, Draco, we are leaving. Run,' he told me.

He quickly grabbed my arm. I turned over my shoulder to the place where I knew Harry Potter to be standing. He had torn his invisibility cloak from his body when the other death eaters had run down the steps. He seemed to be in a state of shock, then turned and looked at me. He gave me a nod as I was turning the corner of the steps, racing after Snape, who still had my arm in his grasp. Harry began to chase us down the steps. When we reached the bottom, I saw the full destruction that the death eaters had left in their wake on the quest to kill Dumbledore. Debris and bodies were littered across the corridor. Flashes of multi-colored light were flying all around us as the shouts of spells were hurdled after us, yet we still kept running.

It was not until we reached Hagrid's hut (which one of the death eaters had lit on fire in their escape) that Harry caught up with us

"Cruc--" yelled Harry, aiming his wand at Snape. He quickly deflected the curse Harry sent at him. "Fight back! Fight back, you cowardly…" He did not get to finish his statement. Snape had turned on Harry, and began advancing on Harry, dragging me in tow. "Sectum-"Harry said, trying to curse Snape again. I noticed that this was the same spell that Harry had used on me earlier that year. For some reason, this spell incensed Snape.

"You dare use me own spells against me, Potter?" Snape sneered 'It was I who invented them! I am the half-blood prince!" I looked between Snape and Potter with a confused look on my face. Neither party enlightened me on the subject. Snape let got of my arm and reached into the pocket of his robes, pulling out small glass vials. He turned to glance behind him. Seeing no one, he began to pull memories out of his mind, placing them in the containers. He handed them to potter, saying "Watch these. Everything will be explained." He offered no more explanation.

"Is that all you are going to say to me," questioned Potter as he reached for the vials. 'You killed Dumbledore, so why should I do anything you say? Why should I trust you? After all, Dumbledore trusted you, and look where that got him!' When Harry said this, Snape developed a pained expression.

"Just watch them. I can offer no more explanation," and with that, Snape grabbed onto my arm, and with me in tow, ran out of the gates guarding Hogwarts. I glanced back wanting to see, possibly for the last time, my second home for the last six years of my life. I saw Harry standing right where Snape and I left him, staring at the vials in his hand. Snape and I stopped running. He turned to me, taking a firmer grip onto my arm, and apparated us away.

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**So there you have it. The first chapter of When you least expect it is complete. Remember, tell me what you think, Por favor! I had to throw some spanish into there considering I am taking it at school, and I need to get back into the swing of things. Oh by the way, if you find gramatical errors, please tell me. None of my teachers at school really ever taught me, so I have been kind of coasting along. It will be kind of a learning experience for me.**

**~em~ **

**ps: if you haven't already, check out** _A Very Potter Musical _on YouTube. **It's created by **_starkidpotter_**. I feel that all Harry Potter fans should watch and enjoy** :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again, everyone! This is chapter two of my little story here. It was a biggie! over 4,000 words! Wow! my hands hurt just thinking about it. **

**I was thinking earlier how awesome it would be if I wrote harry potter, but then I thought that I should probably leave that to JKR. I only use her characters and basic story plot in order to create my own story. I really want to meet her some day so that I can pay homage to her. I am completely serious. SO long story short: I own nothing. It all belongs to JK Rowling. **

**a little shout out to voldyismyfather and redrose88 for being the first people to review my story here. Thanks so much you two! keep reviewing and telling me what you think :D**

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**Harry POV**

Why do people seem to die in my presence? I'm not trying to be melodramatic, but with Dumbledore's death, that brings the count up to six. First, my parents when I was just a baby; second, the death of professor Quirrel in my first year here; fourth, Cedric in that grave yard; fifth, my godfather, Sirius Black; and finally sixth, Dumbledore himself.

I couldn't believe that Snape had killed Dumbledore. I knew we never should have trusted him, but no one believed me. Who would believe a child when one of the most powerful wizards of our time made it explicitly clear that he trusted that individual? "Well, now they realize their mistake," I thought to myself with a twisted smirk on my lips.

I stared down at the memories which Snape had just given me. At that moment, I had no intention of watching them. Why would I give that satisfaction to Dumbledore's murderer? Snape killed one of my only remaining fatherly figures and a mentor for not only me, but for many other individuals. I was so mad that I was shaking. "He trusted you," I shouted into the night, but I knew he couldn't hear me.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hagrid trying to put out the flames, that were consuming his house, with his umbrella. I let out a sigh of relief, knowing that he hadn't died as well.

I looked up, searching for Draco and Snape in the dark. With a stroke of luck, I made out a head of pale, blond hair, shining in the moon light. I gave Draco a nod, showing him that I would keep Professor Dumbledore's final request. I would keep the Malfoy family safe using whatever means necessary. I wasn't doing it for them, but in the name of Dumbledore's memory. I didn't know how the rest of the Order would feel for this last request, but I would do it-no matter how much I disliked the individuals in question. When Draco is able to get out of Snape's clutch, the Order would be waiting. When Mr. Malfoy is able to escape from Azkaban, and if he agrees to join us, then the Order would be waiting for him and his wife as well.

I tuned towards the castle, noticing the Dark Mark high in the sky over it. I began to trudge back up to the castle when I saw a group of people standing in a clump below the tower. I hastily ran over to the group, and seeing what they were crowded around, gave a shout of despair. There, lying on the ground was the body of our late Head Master. I knelt down by the body with tears pouring out of my eyes. If it wasn't for the fact that his limbs were splayed out around him, you would have thought he was only sleeping, for his peaceful expression did not look like they belonged on a dead man.

I couldn't help thinking to myself that this was my entire fault. If Dumbledore and I had not gone looking for the Horcrux tonight, then none of this would have happened. If he had not drunk that potion in the basin, he would not have been so weak. I offered to drink it myself. I offered to use my own blood to open the passageway, but Dumbledore kept telling me that I was much more important than he, but right now, I couldn't see it. I looked down at his hand which was clutching, rather tightly even in death, a locket. I hastily pulled the trinket from his hands, thinking that not all had been lost tonight, but in an instant, my hopes were shattered. I opened the locket, and a piece of paper fell out. I picked it up off the ground and could faintly make out the words written on the page. Squinting, I managed to read it. It said:

_To the Dark Lord_

_I know I will be dead long before you read this_

_but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret._

_I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can._

_I face death in the hope that when you meet your match,_

_you will be mortal once more._

R.A.B.

With a strangled sob, I realized that this was not the Horcrux we were looking for; rather, it was not a Horcrux at all. I looked at the front, and realized that this did not look like the locket from the memory which Dumbledore showed me earlier in the year. Our adventure tonight had turned up nothing. I was no closer to finding the Horcruxes, and now, the one person who had taught me all about them, had died. I looked up into the sky, crying, as Fang howled in the background. I chucked the fake Horcrux away from me.

I slowly got up, letting Hagrid take my place. I watched him pick up the body, and then I turned and began trudging towards the infirmary, picking up the locket on the way. Even if it wasn't the real one, It served as a reminder to myself not only of Dumbledore, but also for the journey I had to face in order to find the rest of the Horcruxes. Five minutes later, I walked in on another horrible scene. Bill, one of the Weasley brothers was lying in the hospital bed. His handsome face was no more, instead, deep gashes and bite marks covered his flesh. His once perfect profile was now magled and broken. I made my way towards the group surrounding him, taking in the sight.

"Greyback attacked him," Ginny explained to me in a whisper, "We don't know what the after affects are going to be like. It's not the full moon right now, so he won't be a werewolf, but no one has been bitten by a werewolf that hasn't occurred during the full moon." I looked over at Lupin, hoping he could shed some light on the current situation, but he only shook his head. Even he didn't know what the result would be.

"He is going to be one of a kind," explained Lupin.

Mrs. Weasley, noticing that Ginny was talking to me, turned to me. She immediately took in my tear stained face and asked, "What's wrong, Harry?"

Taking in a shaky breath, I replied "He's dead…Snape. Snape…he…"

"Who's dead? What about Snape," Mrs. Weasley asked, coming around the table to comfort me.

"Snape…he killed him…"

"Who did he kill," she replied sharing a worried look with her husband.

"Dumbledore," I whispered, but I knew she head me. I looked up in her eyes, displaying her disbelief at my statement.

"That's not possible! Dumbledore trusted Snape. He made it explicitely clear that he was to be trusted!" exclaimed Mrs. Weasley.

"I saw it happen…in the tower…I was there. Look, look out the window. That's where he is!" Mrs. Weasley ran towards the window, peering out into the night. She turned towards the only source of light shining on the grounds, and saw what everyone was staring at. She instantly burst into tears. Mr. Weasley, seeing his distraught wife, turned towards me

"Why is my wife upset?" He asked

I began to tell them everything that had happened that night, starting from when we left the castle. I told them nothing about the reason for our departure, and luckily no one pushed it. I told them about Draco and how Dumbledore offered him sanctuary with the Order. I told them that Draco offered not only for himself to be a spy for our side, but also that he offered for his father to be one as well. I told them all about the exchange between Dumbledore and Snape-how Dumbledore was pleading for his life before Snape finally took it. I told them how I raced after them across the grounds, how one of the death eaters lit Hagrid's hut on fire, and the exchange I had with Snape, leaving out the part concerning the memories I had hidden in the pocket of my robe. Throughout the exchange, everyone remained silent-which I was thankful for. When it was over, I peered out at the similar looks of shock and anguish displayed on everyone's faces. I looked over at Ginny, Mrs. Weasley, Hermione, Fleur (who I guess was here because of Bill), and even Lupin who all had silent tears running down their faces.

It was in this moment that I head the most gut-wrenching sound I have ever witnessed. Carrying through the night air was the heart-breaking song of a Phoenix. The phoenix's lament seemed to magically personify my own guilt, echoing off the castle and spreading through the grounds.

Everyone's reverie was broken when a moan was heard from the occupied bed in the room. Mrs. Weasley and Fleur hastily ran over to Bill's side who seemed to have just woken up, not hearing the tale which I had just told. Mrs. Weasley picked up a towel and began tending to his wounds.

"He was so beautiful," she lamented 'He was going to be married!'

"And vhat do you mean by zat?" asked an angry Fleur "Of course ze iz going to be married! Why? Do you zink because ze iz ugly now zat I am not going to marry him?" She cried. She snatched the cloth from Mrs. Weasley and began tending to his wounds. "I have enough beauty for ze both of us," she whispered. In the next instant, Mrs. Weasley had tackled Fleur. Both women were hugging and crying as if they were old friends. Mrs. Weasley began offering off suggestions for the marriage ceremony and even told Fleur that she could wear the crown that she wore for her wedding. I turned and looked at Ron. He had a look of confusion on his face which I knew mirrored my own expression on my face.

There were a lot of questions that I wanted to be answered, so I motioned for the members of the D.A. in the room to follow me. We wanted privacy away from the grown ups in the room, so we headed towards the Gryffindor common room. There, they told me everything that happened after Dumbledore and I left.

"I messed up, Harry,' Ron said. "We did like you told us: we checked the Marauder's Map and we couldn't see Malfoy on it, so we thought he must be in the Rom of Requirement, so I, Ginny, and Neville went to keep watch on it…but Malfoy got past us."

"He came out of the Room about an hour after we started keeping watch," elaborated Ginny. "He came out on his own clutching…well I don't know what he was clutching…"

"He was clutching his Hand of Glory. You know that shriveled up hand we saw in Borgin and Bourkes a while ago? Remember it only gives light to the beholder," said Ron.

"He must have been checking to see if the coast was clear in order for the Death Eaters to come out of the room. The moment he saw us, he threw something, and everything went dark."

"Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder," stated Hermione, who had been quiet through this entire time. "Fred and George sell it in their shop. It only affected us because I bet Malfoy could see because of his Hand of Glory. What I don't understand is how Malfoy was able to get them into Hogwarts."

"Vanishing cabinets," I replied. 'Remember that day in Diagon Alley when we followed Malfoy earlier this year? Remember when he was looking at a cabinet there? Well, that cabinet had a sister inside the Room of Requirement. I remember seeing that cabinet the day I hid my potions book. Ironically, I hid it right on top of it under a mannequin and a crown. Anyway, the cabinets make a sort of secret passageway between the two. That means that you could slip into one of the cabinets and end up in an entirely different location. You can get anywhere completely undetected."

"It was lucky that Ginny, Ron and I ran into Lupin when we did," said Neville. "Apparently, Malfoy didn't expect for that many people to be on patrol tonight. We saw Malfoy head up to the tower, and ran to catch up. A fight broke out, and one of the death eaters broke away…I guess to set off the mark. He came back down after that.

"While all that was going on, Hermione and I were-" Luna sighed "we were outside Snape's office," she whispered. "We had no idea what was going on upstairs and Ron had taken the map. It was nearly midnight before Professor Flitwick ran by shouting that there were Death Eaters in the castle. He burst into Snape's office saying that he needed to help them. We heard a thump, and then Snape came running out," said Luna.

"Harry I was so stupid," cried Hermione, bursting into tears. Ron quickly put his arm around the hysterical girl. "He said that Flitwick had collapsed and that we should take care of him while he went to see what was going on. Oh Harry, we didn't realize it at the time, but it is obvious now that Snape must have Stupeifed him and knocked him unconscious. We-we-we jjjust let him go! Wwe just let Snape gggo!" Hermione cried, looking at Harry.

"Things weren't looking up for us, mate," said Ron. "Neville was hurt. He didn't take some of the Felix potion before the battle like we did. That's probably why none of us are hurt. Anyway, Malfoy must have slipped up the tower already because I didn't see him anymore. After a few minutes of fighting, more death eaters ran up to follow him. One of them must have put a charm on the door which didn't allow anyone through. Neville tried rushing it, but was thrown back-that's what knocked him unconscious. Moments later, Snape rushed up the stairs. Obviously, the block kept everyone who did not have a dark mark-out. That's the only reason I can think that the block let Snape through and not Neville."

Everything was quiet for a minute as everyone let me process what they said.

"Harry?" Ginny piped up, "Do you think it is wise to trust Draco? I mean after everything he did to us at school…He was just so mean! Why should we trust him? Look at where trusting Snape got us!"

I ran my fingers through my messy hair and looked at Ginny, figuring out how to answer her. "I know you may think that…Hell, I bet you all are thinking that as well, but you guys didn't see him there. You didn't see how broken and sad he was. I knew he wasn't going to kill Dumbledore. I saw it in his eyes before he lowered his wand." Ron had a skeptical look on his face, "Yes, Ron, he was lowering his wand. Dumbledore told him he wasn't a killer and I guess Draco realized that as well. And think about it: how many times has Draco done anything remotely mean to us this year? I can count them on one hand! This task that Voldemort gave him obviously made him rethink his life a little bit. Hermione," I said. Her head shot up to look at me. "How many times has he called you Mudblood this year?" She contemplated for a minute before she shrugged.

"A few times in passing," she replied, but his heart wasn't in it. It didn't contain the same malice as the other times he called me a 'you know what."'

"So maybe this year he was more tolerable, but what about the other five years we've been at this school? He has always been a stupid little bouncing ferret. Nothing is going to change that. Besides, he is obviously a death eater. He should be thrown in Azkaban for what happened here tonight! He may not have cast the curse, but he was the one who let the death eaters into the castle. If they had not been here, then Dumbledore would still be alive!" stated Ron

"You don't know that, Ron," said Ginny. "Snape killed him. What's to say he wouldn't have done it at some other time? The man lives here! Tonight may just have been that opportune moment he had been waiting for in order to go through with it. Think about it: he could run away with the death eaters and go straight back to his master. No searching for Voldemort and no messy situations. All he had to do was follow the death eaters already here and disappear."

"I think I am going to agree with Harry on this one, Ron," said Hermione. "I want to give him a chance. You never know: he could be a valuable asset to our side. And if his father was to join us as well, then think about all of the death eater secrets we could uncover. Draco's father is pretty high up in the death eater rank. Granted, he isn't as high up as he used to be considering he was the one who was in charge of the raid at the ministry last year. But still, he has the potential to uncover, and feed us, major plans that Voldemort is going to carry out."

"So its Draco now, is it?" asked an irritated Ron. "Why are you siding with him? Why are you ignoring all of the things he has done in the past?" he asked her.

"Ronald, I am simply giving the benefit of the doubt. Besides, I said I was siding with Harry, not Draco, and also, why is it always my fault? Why is it always me you get irritated with and not Harry? He is the one who is letting Draco join the Order in the first place-not me!" fumed Hermione.

Ron shut his mouth, knowing that an angry Hermione is not a nice Hermione. I couldn't help but smile a bit at their antics. They are always fighting with each other, but I knew that it was because they cared. I opened my mouth to tell them so, but Tonks burst into the common room at that moment, requesting that Ginny return to the hospital wing. Figuring that it had something to do with her mom and Fleur, she literally dragged Luna with her so that she could be her wingman of sorts. I am pretty sure that Ginny thought that her mom wouldn't say anything too embarrassing or annoying with Luna in tow. Neville, sensing that the conversation was over bade Hermione, Ron and I a good night before heading up to bed. It was a long night which definitely took a toll on everyone in the castle.

Hermione turned to me expectantly. "So, Harry, care to enlighten Ron and I about where you and Dumbledore went tonight?" she asked.

I knew the conversation was inevitable and I was glad that they didn't bring it up in front of the others. Dumbledore told me that the little amount of people who knew-the better. He gave me strict instructions to only tell Ron and Hermione, but I knew that there was the high possibility that I would have to let other people in on our secret in the future, but for now, it was just between the three of us.

I started my tale right from the beginning. They already knew everything that I knew about Horcruxes, so I didn't need to tell them all about that. I told them how I met Dumbledore on the tower, where he apparated us away to this cave by the sea. I looked directly at Hermione when I said we apparated directly from Hogwarts because she has made it very clear throughout the years that you can not apparate inside the walls of Hogwarts. I told them how, when we swam to the cave, that Dumbledore detected magic inside the rock and how a secret passage opened when Dumbledore sprayed his blood on it.

"Why would the door need a blood donation?" asked Ron

"Apparently, it was supposed to weaken whoever was trying to get into the chamber. Dumbledore told me that everything we were possibly facing wouldn't kill us because Voldemort would want to keep whoever had found his Horcrux alive," I replied. "I tried giving the blood donation myself, but Dumbledore stopped me, saying that my blood was more valuable than his." I continued my tale, telling them how we followed a skinny path all the way around this underground lake. I told them how in the center, there was a light. According to Dumbledore, that was where the Horcrux was.

"The problem became: how were we supposed to get to that light. I have never seen anything like what happened next," I said. "Dumbledore I guess detected more magic in the surroundings and proceeded to start pulling this invisible rope. This boat just magically appeared out of the water, so we climbed in and sailed to the center of the lake." I told them how, when we got to the center, Dumbledore cast spells on this basin. We inferred that this was where the Horcrux was. "He found out that the potion inside the basin was supposed to be drunk," I said. "He made me promise that, no matter what, I had to continue administering the potion to him. Dumbledore was confident that the potion wouldn't kill him, so I agreed. I wouldn't have agreed had I known what would happen next," I said. I told them how the potion made him act. I told them how he was begging for it to stop, begging for water. In all honesty, I had no idea if he was talking to me, or if the potion was affecting him somehow in his mind, but through it all, I still gave him it. I told them how, when he had finally drunk it all, he asked for water. I told them how I tried to make it appear, but it didn't work. Instead, I got it from the lake. "The instant that the cup touched the surface of the water, an army of inferi stared crawling out of the water. I had no idea what to do. I began blasting whatever spells I could at them, but they just kept coming," I said. "Luckily, Dumbledore managed to recover enough to start a fire which kept the inferi at bay. He told me to remember that the dark always fears light. That's when we got back into the boat and made our way quickly back to Hogsmeade with the Horcrux. When we arrived there, we noticed the dark mark over the tower and asked Madame Rosmierta for a few brooms to ride. You wouldn't have believed it, Hermione, as we were flying, Dumbledore was literally taking down all of the wards and protection spells surrounding the castle in order for us to get through. When we arrived at the tower, Dumbledore had just enough time to put a spell on me so that I couldn't move and sticking me to the wall before Draco ran up the steps."

"Wait," said Ron, "How did Draco know that you were there?"

"That was something that Dumbledore was able to find out from Draco. Apparently, Madame Rosmierta was under the imperious curse, and through a message system similar to the DA coins, Hermione, she was able to tell Draco when Dumbledore arrived back. There is something else, though," I said. I reached into my pocket and extracted the slip of paper I got from the locket. I handed it to Hermione who read it aloud.

"So it was a fake," she said. "The real Horcrux is still out there."

"All of this was for nothing!" cried Ron incredulously.

"Not necessarily," said Hermione. I was just as surprised as Ron by Hermione's statement. Even I thought that this was all for nothing. "Think about it," she said. We are right in saying that this Horcrux we are looking for is a locket because whoever took it would try to make it look as alike to the original as possible. Finally, the initials RAB are a huge clue. If we can find who took it, then we can find the missing Horcrux."

Ron turned to smile at me. "They don't call her the cleverest witch of our age for nothing," he said.

I decided not to tell Ron and Hermione about the memories that Snape gave me. I didn't really need them down my back, telling me to watch them. I would watch them when I was ready. I also figured that whatever he had to show me was personal, so I would rather watch them by myself. I remembered that Dumbledore had a pensive, so I resolved myself that I would watch the memories in it after his funeral. I heard, as the Gryffindors were returning to the common room that his funeral was going to be tomorrow. Apparently, after the service, all of us students were free to go. There was to be no exams or anything. I guess the teachers figured that, with the death of the Head Master, the school year should not go on. Also, many parents wanted to bring their children home. With Dumbledore gone, Hogwarts wasn't as safe any more. It was a known fact that the only wizard that Voldemort feared was Dumbledore himself. Already, some of our classmates' parents had scooped them up and taken them away. I heard that the Patil twins' parents were all set to get them, but they convinced them to let them stay for the funeral before they were whisked away-back to their home or somewhere safe.

I crossed to the window and looked down at the grounds. "This is it," I thought, "The beginning of the end."

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**You see that button down there? its the one that says "Review." I would love each and every one of you forever if you push that button and review my story! I will continue giving shout outs to my reviewers in my opening Author's Note. So yah. That's basically it...*I am now telepathically telling you to review my story...GO NOW***


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone, this is the third chapter of my story. For some reason, this was a hard one to write...not sure why, though. Once I got into the groove (and yes, I did just say groove) of things, it kind of just flowed out of me. By the way, I want to thank the follwing people: **

**ReaderforLIfe and redrose88 for reviewing my story**

**Swimnsail and Voldyismyfather for making this one of your favorite stories and finally,**

**MoonMouze, voldyismyfather, Readerforlife, Verena90, Swimnsail, redrose88, and TreeHilllove23 for adding me to your story alerts! IT means so much to me you guys!**

**the characters and memories in the pensive are not mine...nor is hogwarts or any of that stuff. I only take Jk rowling's characters and bend them to my will...haha just kidding. Note: things will definitely start to pick up more after this chapter. You will see some Hermione-draco action soon enough...I know you've all been dying for it ;)**

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**Harry POV**

I woke up the next morning and glanced at the clock next to my bed. 8:30, it read. I sighed, annoyed at myself for waking up this early, yet knowing that I could definitely not fall back to sleep again—what with the event which would be happening just outside on the grounds of Hogwarts just later this afternoon. In about six hour's time, the funeral for our late Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, would commence.

I slowly got out of bed and made my way to the bathroom where I took a shower and changed before going downstairs to breakfast.

"Morning Harry," said Hermione, as I came down the stairs to the common room. She gave me a sympathetic smile as she took my hand and gently squeezed it. She didn't let go until we reached the great hall. I was incredibly grateful for Hermione. Being my best friend is obviously hard, but through everything, she has always been there with a little smile to show her support. She and Ron have dealt with all of my problems and been there every step of the way with me, never leaving me when things got tough. For that, I was thankful. Not a lot of people would willingly do what they did for me constantly-putting themselves in danger almost every day in order to help me.

I grabbed a Treacle Tart from the basket in the middle of the table and began to eat. I looked around at the other people in the Great Hall. The atmosphere was a somber one. Everybody was mourning the death of the Head Master; it seemed, except for a few select Slytherins, who looked like they didn't care one way or another about his death. I studied them a little closer. Blaise Zambini and Pansy Parkinson looked a little down. I figured that it had to do with the loss of Draco Malfoy, considering he was Blaise's best friend and Pansy's boyfriend. Crabbe and Goyle were busy stuffing their faces-nothing new there, and Theodore Nott seemed completely at ease with whatever was going on around him. If I could put his mood into words, it would seem that he was poorly hiding happiness for the fact that the Head Master was dead. It made me angry. Thinking about the Slytherins brought me back to Snape and the fact that he was the one who killed Dumbledore and the reason for the ceremony today.

Someone plopped down next to me on the bench and I turned to look at whoever it was. It was Ron, my other best friend. He gave me a smile, like the one that Hermione gave me this morning and sat down. He began piling his plate with food, but didn't really touch any of it. It seemed that no one really had an appetite…except Crabbe and Goyle that is.

"How you holding up, Harry?" asked Ron.

"Okay I guess considering…" I trailed off. Hermione patted my hand that was resting by my plate, telling me without words that everything would be okay.

"I figured we could pack up all of our stuff and meet by the lake in about two hours to just, you know, let of steam a little bit," said Hermione changing the subject. I gave her a thankful smile as she continued, "Classes are over for the year, so we might as well make use of this nice weather," Hermione said, gesturing towards the ceiling where rays of sunshine were coming through. Ron and I both nodded at her, knowing that she was right. The train would be here at 3:30, giving everyone enough time for a quick once-over of their rooms before we would all be heading back to London. It was the perfect opportunity for me to sneak into Dumbledore's office in order to watch the memories that Snape gave me yesterday night. Why delay the inevitable?

"Yah, I guess that sounds okay," I replied.

"Alright Ill meet you guys by the lake at 11:00, sound good?" Hermione asked. Ron and I both nodded.

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**Hermione POV**

A lot has happened in the past 24 hours: Death Eaters sneaking into the castle, Dumbledore's death, Snape's betrayal, Malfoy…Draco's conversion, Bill's "accident"  
with a werewolf (in their human form), and so much more. Now, later on today, Dumbledore is going to be buried on the school grounds—apparently it was something he wanted. I knew that, with Voldemort back, horrible things were going to start to happen, but I never expected this. Attacks were becoming more and more frequent since Voldemort regained power, but I naively thought that nothing could touch me-that nothing would or could happen to either me or anyone that I cared for, but I was wrong.

I made my way up to the common room to pack my things. I couldn't believe that the school year was over. Not only that, but there would be no exams this year. I studied hours for them, and now we weren't having them anymore, but I guess I could understand why. With the Headmaster gone, it just doesn't seem right to keep going on with the school year as if nothing has happened.

"Hey Hermione, wait up!" yelled Ginny. I paused to let my female best friend catch up to me. "It's been quite a year, hasn't it?"

"Yes it has," I replied.

"What do you think about—well about Malfoy?" she asked me

"I guess I want to give him the benefit of the doubt. There is so little to believe in anymore, you know? I think I want to give him that chance. I mean there is so little good in the world right now." I paused, trying to put my thoughts into words: "I know I don't know him that well, but I feel that he really has changed. He couldn't kill Dumbledore when faced with that situation, so I think that we should let him join the Order. If Dumbledore wanted him to, then why should we go against that?"

"I guess your right, Hermione," said Ginny. "I just…can't get over everything that he has done to us over the years—especially you. He's hated you for year everybody knows that! And you have to admit, letting Lucius join the Order is not something I really want to happen. I just can't see him ever coming over to our side."

"You never know, Ginny, you never know."

The time we had before the funeral seemed to slip by, and before we knew it, it was time for the event. Ron, Harry, and I had all finished packing, and now we were seated, with the rest of the Order, in the first row. Wizards and witches from every part of the world seemed to have come to pay their respects to Dumbledore. I was watching everyone congregate, when I saw one of the few people that I had never wanted to see again. "What is SHE doing here," I whispered furiously to Harry and Ron. They both whipped their heads around to see who I was talking about.

"I can't believe it!" shouted Ron. "She has a lot of nerve showing her face here after EVERYTHING she has done to not only us, BUT TO THIS SCHOOL!" Sitting about four rows behind us was Dolores Umbrige, a toad of a woman with the most horrible laugh/*ehem* that I have ever heard in my life. She was our DADA professor last year, and because of her, we didn't learn anything. We had to resort to creating our own undercover club just to learn anything about defense. I looked over at Harry, who looked like he was about to jump out of his chair and murder her. He was unconsciously rubbing his hand where the words "I must not tell lies" was scarred on the back of his hand. "Just ignore her, mate," said Ron sagely. "She will get what's coming for her."

The funeral lasted a long time. Tons of wizards, witches, and many different magical creatures all wanted to pay respects to Dumbledore. The Minister of Magic gave a long-winded speech about Dumbledore's many accomplishments over the years, and shared with us many stories about why he thought Dumbledore was fabulous. We, of course, knew differently. For years, the ministry had been giving Dumbledore grief and a hard time, so we all just rolled our eyes and let him talk. Harry was asked if he wanted to speak, but he politely declined. He didn't want to relive Dumbledore's last moments with everyone, and he certainly didn't want to accidentally let slip anything about Horcruxes, so he kept his memories to himself. When the ceremony was about to end, three things happened: One, the Centaurs paid their respects by shooting a round of arrows; second, the Mermaids in the lake started to sing; third, Fawkes suddenly appeared out of Dumbledore's grave with a burst of flames, and flew away.

**Harry POV**

It was finally time for me to watch those memories. Hermione, Ron, and I made our way up to the castle, following the line of people who were making their way up there as well. When we reached the entrance hall, I turned the opposite way from Ron and Hermione

"Aren't you coming with us?" Hermione asked

"I'll meet you guys on the train. I just want to be alone right now," I replied. I trudged up to Dumbledore's office, and said the password. I was thankful that Professor McGonagall hadn't changed the password yet since the last time I was here. I crept into his office and made my way to the cabinet which I knew held his Pensive. I opened it, and took out the large, ornate basin, and set it on the Head Master's desk. I poured the memories in, and with a deep breath and a glance behind me, dunked my head in.

Scene after scene played in front of my eyes, and each one was about Snape's relationship with someone I never thought possible: my mother. Him and her at a playground, with him telling her that she is a witch; them both on the Hogwarts Express for the first time; them getting sorted into their houses—everything. Finally, a scene occurred that really caught my attention.

(Directly from the 7th book here) An adult Snape was panting, turning on the spot, his wand gripped tightly in his hand, waiting for something or for someone…

Then a blinding, jagged jet of white light flew through the air. Snape had dropped to his knees and his wand had flown out of his hand

"Don't kill me!"

"That was not my intention."

Any sound of Dumbledore Apparating had been drowned by the sound of the wind in the branches. He stood before Snape in the light cast by his wand.

"Well, Severus? What message does Lord Voldemort have for me?

"No—no message—I am here on my own accord. I—I come with a warning—no, a request—please--"

"What request could a Death Eater make of me?"

"The—the prophecy…the prediction…Trelawney…You know what I mean! He thinks it means Lilly Evans! He thinks it means her son; he is going to hunt them down—kill them all—. Can you hide them all…keep her—them—safe? Please?"

"And what will you give me in return, Severus?"

"In return? Anything."

I watched as the scene changed to another. This one occurred right in Dumbledore's office.

"She's gone…Dead…"

"Her boy survives," said Dumbledore. "If you loved Lilly Evans, then your way forward is clear. Make sure her death was not in vain. Help me protect Lilly's son.

Snape was silent before answering, "Very well. Very well, but never—never tell, Dumbledore! This must be between us! Swear it! I cannot bear…especially Potter's son…I want your word!"

"My word, Severus…if you insist."

The scene changed again. This memory seemed to be right before the beginning of this school year. Snape and Dumbledore were in the Head Master's office, and Dumbledore looked only semiconscious. Snape was muttering spells under his breath while pouring potion down Dumbledore's throat.

"Why, Why did you have to put that ring on? It carries a curse. Why even touch it?"

"I was a fool," Dumbledore sighed, "Tempted by…"

"Tempted by what?" Dumbledore did not answer. Instead, he stared a Marvolo Gaunt's ring.

"That ring carried a curse of extraordinary power, to contain it is all we can hope for; I have trapped the curse in one hand for the time being—"

"You have done very well, Severus. How long do you think I have?"

Snape hesitated, and then replied, "I cannot tell. Maybe a year. There is no halting such a spell forever. It will spread eventually; it is that sort of curse that spreads over time."

"Well really, this makes matters much more straight forward. I refer to the plan Lord Voldemort is revolving around me. His plan is to have the poor Malfoy boy murder me."

Snape sat down in the chair across from Dumbledore. I knew that he wanted to say some more about Dumbledore's hand, but given the current topic, he couldn't. Scowling, Snape said, "The Dark Lord does not expect Draco to succeed. This is merely a punishment for Lucius' recent failures. Slow torture for Draco's parents, while they watch him fail and pay the price."

"In short, the boy has had a death sentence pronounced upon him assuredly as I have," said Dumbledore. "Now, I should have thought the natural successor to the job, once Draco fails, is yourself?"

"That I think is the Dark Lord's plan," Snape replied after a short pause.

"Ultimately, there is only one thing to be done if we are to save him from Lord Voldemort's wrath."

Snape raised his eyebrows "Are you intending for him to kill you?" he asked.

"Certainly not. You must kill me," replied Dumbledore. "Do I have your word? I ask this one great favor of you, Severus, because death is coming for me as surely as the Chudley Cannons will finish bottom of this year's league. Also, when I die, and if the school falls into Voldemort's grasp, will you do all in your power to protect the students of Hogwarts?"

His tone was light, as if he was just remarking about the weather. After a long pause, Snape gave a curt nod.

"Thank you, Severus," said Dumbledore.

I was lifted out of the Pensive and landed back in Dumbledore's office. I couldn't believe it. Snape was good, in fact, he was one of the goodest (if that's even a word) people on our side. Not only had he given a valid reason for Dumbledore to trust him, that reason being that he loved my mother and wanted to die for causing her death, but also Dumbledore, himself, told Snape to kill him, not to mention that he was going to die anyway because of that curse trapped in his hand.

I just couldn't get over the fact that Snape and my mother were best friends. I would never have guessed from the way he acted towards me. It makes me sad in a way: boy loves girl, but girl only sees him as a friend, then girl goes off—dates, then marries, boy's worst enemy from school; yah, no wonder I feel sorry for him. His life is like a soap opera.

I quickly took the memories out of the pensive, placed them back into the bottles, and ran towards the Gryffindor tower in order to tell Ron and Hermione what I knew, resolving along the way that I would apologize to Snape, the next time I see him, for all of the horrible things I said and did to him during my time here at Hogwarts.

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**Hermione POV**

I glanced down at the watch on my wrist for what seemed to be the thousandth time. "What's taking Harry?" I asked Ron, knowing that it was a rhetorical question. He knows what's taking him about as much as I do. "It's ten after three. If he doesn't get here soon, then we might miss the train!"

No sooner had I spoken those words, when Harry came sprinting through the portrait hole, panting with a huge smile on his face.

"Snape…he's…he's…innocent…wow holds on give me a second here." He placed his hands on his knees, bending over to breath more deeply, while Ron and I gave each other confused looks. When he finally got air in his lungs, he stood up and said, "Something happened last night that I didn't want to tell you guys for fear of the outcome. Snape gave me a few vials of his memories. When we got back from the funeral, I snuck into Dumbledore's office to watch them in the Pensive. That's where I ran off to when we came in. Anyway, long story short, Snape was best friends with my mother, he accidentally told Voldemort about the prophecy and subsequently leading Voldemort to kill my parents, Snape vowed to always protect me, he healed Dumbledore at the beginning of this year from a curse from a Horcrux he destroyed. That's why his hand was black all year. Apparently, this spell was one that was incurable. The most Snape could do was put the curse into his hand, blocking it from the rest of the body. The curse is one that strengthens over time, so Snape told Dumbledore that he only had, at most, a year to live. Don't you see? Dumbledore was going to die anyway!" Ron and I had similar looks of shock on our faces. Harry continued, "Dumbledore, somehow, knew that Malfoy had been given a task by the Dark Lord to kill him. Dumbledore, I guess, knew that Malfoy wasn't a killer and knew that he couldn't go through with it, so HE asked SNAPE to kill him. He made Snape give him his word. Don't you see? Snape is actually good. Wow…who would have thought?"

It took me a moment to process what Harry had just said. When it sunk in, I smiled and said, "See, I knew that Snape wasn't as bad as you thought he was, Harry." He rolled his eyes at me and chuckled. "We have to tell the rest of the Order, though, that way when he shows up with Draco at Grimmauld Place, they won't kill him or send him to Azkaban."

"Let me do that," Harry said. I doubt Snape wants to let everyone know his secret memories. After all, the seal of approval from the 'Boy who lived' should be enough for everyone in the Order," he said cheekily.

We all three stood up after a moment. I placed my arms around both their necks and we began walking out of the common room. "Let's get going," I said. "Oh, Harry, are you going to Grimmauld Place directly from school, or are you going to go to your Aunt and Uncle's house before you leave to go? I won't be there yet. I have some business to attend to before I meet you guys at headquarters."

"I'll swing by their house before I go. Who knows; maybe this year, there will be this elaborate plan to bring me to safely like there has been in the past….by the way, Hermione, what is this business you need to attend to?" Harry and Ron raised their eyebrows expectantly.

"Ill tell you when you see me later this summer," I replied with a laugh. "Come on, we are going to miss the train. We exited through the massive gate surrounding the castle. I took one look back at my second home for the past six years. I couldn't wait to go back for my final year. I knew that things were going to be drastically different…for everyone.

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So that's the end of installment numero tres! PLEASE REVIEW!!!!! just leave any comment you want! constructive, helpful, uplifting...whatever...just please review (except i really don't want really negative ones. If you have a problem with something in my story, tell me in a nice, helpful way). SO, you see that green button down there? please please please press it. It would mean so much to me to have TONS of feedback for my story :)

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	4. Chapter 4

**Okay so you guys should be really proud of me: This is my longest chapter to date! How about them apples? So anyway I am going to start a new game...well it's not an actual game per say, but it is going to be called: NAME THAT QUOTE! In every chapter, I promise to put a quote or two from a famous movie, book, or television show. Just for kicks, I want you guys to:**

**1) find it somewhere in the chapter**

**2) tell me where the quote is from.**

**This way, we can get physically involved in the story. Sound good to everyone. If you want, we can add a prize to the first couple people who guess it, so if anyone has any ideas, feel free to send them in :)**

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**Okay so this is the end of this epically long authors note! bye!**

_I saw Harry standing right where Snape and I left him, staring at the vials in his hand. Snape and I stopped running. He turned to me, taking a firmer grip onto my arm, and apparated us away._

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**Draco POV**

I quickly snatched my arm away from Snape as soon as he apparated us away from the school. I hastily took a step away from him and surveyed my surroundings. We landed in, what appeared to be, a meadow in the middle of a large forest. "Where are we?" I asked

Snape turned to look at me and said, "We are just outside the county of Derbyshire. There is a muggle town about 4km from here."

"Okay…well why are we here?" I asked

"W are on the run—you from Death Eaters, and me from the Order and possibly Death Eaters as well since I failed to return to the Dark Lord's side after killing Dumbledore. No doubt wizards and witches from both sides are hunting for me, and by association, you. Our only hope now lies in the hands of Harry Potter."

"MY only hope lies with Harry Potter. Dumbledore offered me sanctuary. He told me that I could become a spy for the Order and that the same offer would be extended to my father when he escapes from Azkaban. That's me though. I highly doubt that Harry will extend the same courtesy to YOU. You just killed the person that Harry admired the most in this world. He was also there on the tower, watching when you killed him. You have no hope. Harry won't help you."

"That's where you are wrong, Draco. I gave Harry memories when we met him on the grounds earlier this morning. The contents of the memories are both personal and true and will no doubt appeal to Harry's sympathetic side. I won't tell you all of what they contain, but I will tell you this: the most important memory is the one which Dumbledore tells me, personally, to kill him. He was dying anyway from reasons I cannot explain. He already knew about your mission from the Dark Lord and Dumbledore determined that, in order to save your soul, that I should be the one to kill him."

"Save my soul? What does that mean?" I asked, "And why is your soul different than mine?"

"I can not reveal too much because of the potential danger I would be putting you in, but at the basic level, when someone commits the ultimate act of evil—killing someone—their soul becomes damaged and tears. My soul, from being a Death Eater for so long, has already been damaged, but yours has not. Dumbledore was saving yours by keeping it intact." Snape looked up at the sky with a worried expression and said, "Come now, we have delayed here long enough. The Dark Lord's spies are everywhere. I think that we are being followed. We must find shelter immediately."

I followed Snape closely as we made our way out of the meadow and began picking our way through the overgrown forest. We were being very careful to not leave any traces of us being there, but with the forest floor was dark and muddy, and every bend or turn we made, it seemed to be getting us nowhere because everything looked the same. "This looks strangely familiar," I said

"It's because we've been here before! We're going in circles," he replied

"Let's face it, Professor Snape, we're lost!" I replied.

Snape thought a minute, deciding our next plan of action. He raised his wand and aimed a spell at a tree. At the base of the trunk appeared a small circle. "This is how we will know if we've been somewhere already. It's small enough so people won't notice, but large enough so that we know where it is. From then on, every ten minutes or so, Snape would blast a tree or a log with that symbol so we could find our way.

About a half an hour into our journey, Snape started sending wry spells off into the distance.

"What are you doing?" I asked Snape. He told me that this was an attempt to confuse anyone who was following us by throwing them off our path.

The spells on the trees definitely worked and after what felt like hours, we finally spotted a petite town in the distance. From what Snape had told me about this county while we were walking, all of the towns were relatively small and scattered sparsely across the English country side. It would be hard for the Death Eaters to tell where we had gone. We checked into a small Bed and Breakfast and prepared to go to sleep for the day.

"Refrain from using any kind of magic, Draco. It is traceable, so the Death Eaters will be able to find us faster," Snape told me.

"So that means we have to do thing the…Muggle way?" I asked as I looked disdainfully at the comforter on the bed.

"Yes, and you better get used to it. Who knows how long we could be on the run for."

I was definitely not comfortable in the muggle surroundings. True, I did not fully believe all of the teachings I learnt while growing up, but a person cannot change their entire outlook in just one night. I was hoping I could slowly get used to both muggleborns and muggles—a little bit of exposure everyday, but just being thrust into their culture and way of life was a huge alteration. I felt like a fish out of water in this current situation.

I watched curiously as Professor Snape picked up a piece of paper and surveyed its contents. Apparently finding what he was looking for, he picked up a long, skinny, black box and pressed a button. Immediately, a larger black box in the corner, which I had failed to recognize, burst to life—with sounds and pictures being shown on the front. I jumped in surprise when this happened. Snape began to laugh uproariously at my unease and continued to laugh as I crept towards the offending object. As soon as I got close enough to touch it, the picture suddenly changed so something entirely different and jumped again. I reached my arm out to touch the picture, only to find out there was a barrier, like glass, that was preventing me from touching the images. "What is this magic?" I asked Snape with a curious expression.

"This, Draco, is a television. It is a muggle for of entertainment. Basically, cable channels send out a frequency and the television is able to pick up on these signals. There are thousands of tiny light bulbs that make up the screen that enable you to see the picture. The cables and the parts that make up the television enable the signals sent out by the television stations to be transformed into moving pictures (A/N: I read how this all works, but I have no idea if what I wrote is actually right. I tried to condense it down, but I am really not into science or anything like that. If you really want to know how that all works, go Google it). It is a very complicated system that, frankly, even I am still every unfamiliar with." He handed me the small black box. "Here, press the numbers 1 and 3," He told me. I complied and instantly another picture came up on the screen. I was amazed. We, in the wizarding world do not have anything like this, except perhaps the pictures, but even still, those are not fun to watch in the least. I couldn't believe that muggles accomplished all of this without magic.

I always figured that wizards and witches were superior beings because we had magic and muggles didn't. What I came to realize, however, is that muggles have apparently gotten along fine without magic in their daily lives. They were able to compensate for it with contraptions such as this television which is one of the coolest things I have ever seen. "I guess muggles aren't all bad," I mumbled to myself. Snape, to my chagrin, apparently heard me and smirked in response.

After about twenty minutes of television watching, Snape took the remote and turned it off. "We really should get some sleep," he said to me. "In case we have to leave, it is better for us to travel under the veil of darkness. For now, however, we lay low and hope that Harry received those memories and will somehow convey that he saw them—to us. We need to get to either the Order of the Phoenix headquarters or the Weasley house. Only at those two places can we truly be safe from Death Eaters. For now, Draco, you need to sleep. If I am not here in the morning, know that I have been scoping out possible places for us to stay should it be necessary."

"Where is the Headquarters located?" I asked.

"Grimmauld Place," he replied. "Now go to sleep." I readily complied and fell asleep quickly. The events which had occurred in the past twenty four hours had really taken a toll on me. I woke up a few hours later to shuffling in the room, but in my sleep-induced haze, it never really registered and I fell back to sleep.

**Snape POV**

I halted my movement as a slumbering Draco Malfoy was roused from his sleep by the noise my feet made on the carpet. I didn't need to worry, however, because he fell back asleep shortly after. I pulled on a dark cloak and hastily made my way out of the Bed and Breakfast, keeping my pace steady so as to not draw attention from passer-buyers. I made it to the covering of a grove of trees and quickly apparated away.

Mystery Location

I landed in front of an iron gate with a road lined with tall, imposing trees on the other side. I lifted my branded arm and walked right through the metal, feeling a cooling sensation as I did so. Once on the other side, I made sure my cloak was on tight and began the trek up to the house on top of the hill overhead. The house…well more of a castle was a massive structure. It was made out of granite and marble and seemed to be carved straight out of the hillside. Gargoyles spraying water dominated the turrets and the battlements of the building making it that much more daunting. This was the Dark Lord's layer. His very presence created an evil aura surrounding the castle. I knew he would be inside.

I opened the large double doors and made my way down a shadowy hallway. I stopped in front of another set of doors being guarded by two Death Eaters. Voldemort was definitely inside the room.

"I request a visitation with the Dark Lord," I told one of the Death Eaters.

"Who is this?" he replied. The male's voice was unfamiliar, so I figured he had to be a new recruit.

"Severus Snape," I replied.

"Send him in," whispered a voice from inside the room. Each of the two Death Eaters shared similar looks of fear and quickly opened the door, ushering me inside the large, circular room. The room itself was only lit by the roaring, green fire in the grand fireplace just in front of me, yet that was not what my eyes were drawn to, rather it was the snake-like person sitting on, what looked to be, a throne—that caught my full attention.

"My Lord," I intoned, bowing down before Voldemort. "The task is complete. Dumbledore is dead. I killed him in Draco's stead. Hogwarts, my Lord, is ready to fall."

"Exxxcellent," the Dark Lord hissed victoriously. "Now it is time for the next phase of my plan to be set into motion. I want a loyal Death Eater in the position of Head Master of Hogwarts so that I can have control over the school. Snape, you have proven yourself to be a loyal Death Eater and you also contain many of the qualities necessary to be someone in a position of authority. I want you to become the Head Master of Hogwarts and report back to me weekly. While you do this, I intend to take over the ministry and imposing my rule from the head of government itself. As we speak, I have spies within the Ministry's midst. When the time comes, it will crumble." He began laughing an evil, inhumane laugh. He turned back to me and said, "The next time you visit me, bring the Malfoy boy with you. It's time he got himself a backbone and joined the rest of his family by my side."

"Yes, my Lord. It is an honor for me to accept this position. Neither Draco nor I will fail you," I said.

"You may go," he dismissed me.

I hastily exited the chamber and once passing back through the gate, I apparated back to the small grove of trees from whence I came. The task that the Dark Lord had just given me definitely coincided with my own agenda. It was my duty, as an active member of the Order, to be a spy within the Death Eater ranks. It had taken a lot of time, but it had gotten to the point where the Dark Lord, himself, seemed to trust me above all of my other compatriots. This way, I could relay valuable information to the Order, yet he wouldn't suspect me. The Dark's Lord's added interest in Draco was an added bonus. Earlier today, Draco made it clear that he wished to be a spy for the Order. With me taking him under my wing, this would be entirely plausible as well as possible. If what Draco said was correct, and that his father wished to become a spy as well, well that would be just one more incredibly beneficial piece in bringing the Dark Lord down. With loyal Death Eaters (who have always been loyal to Voldemort) converting to the light side, the Order would be able to obtain much more valuable information than what I alone could collect. Yes, this was turning out to be very good, indeed.

I picked up a change of clothes for both me and Draco, figuring that what we wore as we hiked through the woods would be completely destroyed. Once I did this, I hastened back to the hotel room, and hoped that Draco would not have noticed my absence.

**Hermione POV**

"Harry?" I asked. He was staring aimlessly out the window at the English country side when I roused him from his reverie. We had been on the train for about an hour already when a thought occurred to me, "Do you think that we should send an owl to Snape telling him that you have viewed the memories? I mean, he can't come back to the Order before then because of the fact that everyone—besides us three—thinks that he killed Dumbledore on purpose. We are the only ones who know the true story. He and Draco can't be on the run forever, you know?"

Harry thought about that for a moment before responding, "I think that's a good idea. We can tell him the day that I'll be returning to Grimmauld Place so that his arrival coincides with mine. With me trusting him, that should be enough evidence for his innocence. The Order should trust my judgment. I think that they would figure that something huge would have happened to make me trust him, after all, I have hated him for years," he said with a chuckle.

"I have paper and a quill. Can Hedwig send the note to him?" I asked.

"Definitely," he replied

"We should have code names for Snape and Draco, and for us as well…I got it! Okay, then here is what it is going to say…

**Draco POV**

I woke up before 6:45 with the sound of an owl tapping on the glass outside of the window. I looked over to the bed next to mine, and seeing it vacant, I groggily made my way over to the window to let the offensive bird in myself. It was a large, female, snowy owl that looked vaguely familiar for some reason. Figuring that, whatever the letter she carried was important, I reached into my cloak and pulled out my last owl treat, feeding it to the bird. I took the letter off her leg while she was eating, and seeing that it was addressed to the "Amazing bouncing Ferret," I opened it without a second though, with a dark look on my face. The note read:

_Dear Ferret,_

_Sorry about the name, but I felt that it would be a little dangerous to write your actual one here in case this note was intercepted somewhere along the way. I just wanted to tell you and Bat that we saw what he gave to us and that we will be awaiting your arrival to Padfoot's house. There, we can explain these confusing circumstances to everyone else present. It will just make thing easier for everyone, including you._

_Make sure you are there on the 3__rd__ of June. We will be waiting for you out front so that you can enter with us. No one should give you any trouble if we do this._

_We await your reply by owl._

_Sincerely,_

_Bookworm, Weasel, and Seeker._

I placed the letter back down on the dresser in the room for Snape to read when he returned. I figured that he would be able to make more sense out of than I could. I padded over to the bathroom and proceeded to take a much needed shower. I turned the water on to a scalding temperature and stepped into the steady stream of water. I leaned my forehead up against the wall as I let the water sooth my tense muscles and wash off the caked-on dirt that was on my arms and in my hair. I couldn't believe that I went to bed this dirty. I shampooed and conditioned my platinum blond-almost white hair with the toiletries provided and let the cascading water rinse them out. I stayed in the shower for another ten minutes just relaxing before I finally got out. I toweled off and put on the fresh clothes that Snape must have been kind enough to buy for me when he was out—and stepped back out into the room.

I turned to corner and noticed that Snape was reading the note that Harry, Ron, and Hermione had sent. I could tell that, like me, he wasn't very appreciative of the nickname he was given. The note, however seemed to make more sense to him than it did to me though, and I was thankful for that. When he was finished reading he shredded the paper into tiny pieces and tossed them out of the window. He watched the papers drift away in the breeze. When he was done, he turned and looked at me.

"We have five days before we meet them at Grimmauld Place. Staying here for that amount of time will probably be a detrimental idea, so tonight we will be apparating directly into muggle London. Because of the amount of people there, we will be able to go by for four days, as long as we remain undetected, so that means no magic in the least," he said. "Here, take my arm Draco." I complied and he turned on the spot and we disapparated.

After only a few seconds of intense discomfort, we landed in a dark alleyway in what looked like a bad part of town. I noticed Snape throwing his hood over his head and I followed his example. "Its a little ways walk from here until we get to where we will be staying," said Snape. "Keep close to me and don't get lost."

We made our way through the dark streets of London's outskirts, until we reached the largest clothing store I had ever seen. Snape held out his arm, signaling for me to stop, and said "In order for us to fit in, we need to look the part," so he grabbed my arm and dragged me into the store; Macys it was called. The doors magically opened for us, and as far as the eye could see, there were racks of clothing that were completely and utterly muggle.

"Not only do I have to live with them, but I have to dress like them too?" I whispered furiously to Snape as I rubbed a polyester shirt with my thumb and forefinger.

"I'm not happy about this either, but we need to blend in so that we don't draw attention to ourselves. Besides, you can't wear the same shirt and pants for four day. It's completely unsanitary. Here, put this on." Snape tossed me a pair of black pants and an emerald green shirt and then directed me to the changing rooms. I tried on the clothes and turned to face myself in the mirror. I had to admit to myself that the clothes did not look too bad. I read the label hanging from the shirt and pants. The shirt said Ralph Lauren Polo and the pants said Lucky. I had never heard of them so I figured that they were muggle designers. I stepped out of the dressing room at the same time as Snape. We both gave each other nods of approval at our clothing choices before changing and heading over to the checkout line.

Snape was obviously prepared for everything. He reached into the pocket of his robe and pulled out a wad of muggle money. Handing the correct amount to the employee, he picked up our bags and headed out of the store and motioned for me to follow. We walked quickly, keeping up with the flow of traffic of the people on the sidewalk. I was very uncomfortable. Muggles were pressing up to me on either side and it was getting harder and harder to follow close to Snape. We walked for another ten minutes before we arrived at the hotel which we would be staying at. The sign read The Cavendish London we entered through the sliding doors and Snape immediately went up to the concierge desk.

"My son and I need a room for the next for days," he said in a haughty voice as he took out a large stack of money out of his pocket. The concierge's eyes went wide.

"Of course," he stuttered. "A Junior Suite is available for that time. There is a king sized bed, but we can have it replaced if you like for two doubles if you would like."

"That would be fine," stated Snape.

"Okay, here is the key to your room. It's located on the 15 floor. Elevators are on your left, and your room number is 1512. Have a lovely stay here, sir," said the concierge.

Snape motioned me to follow him and we made our way onto, what I guessed from what the concierge said was the elevator. Snape pressed the button marked 15 and the chamber we were in started moving. I let out a feminine squeak of surprise, but tried to cover it up with a cough. Snape heard it, however, and proceeded to laugh at my expense as I scowled at the doors of the elevator. We turned left out of the elevator, following the signs telling us where to go and made it to our room. Snape swiped the card and the door opened. We both peered through the entrance to the room before I bravely stepped in followed closely by Snape. "It'll do," I said as I made a cursory glance at the furniture and color scheme of the room. Snape nodded his head in agreement, setting the bags from the store down on the floor.

"So this is where we will be staying for the next few days?" I asked as I ran my fingers over the granite countertop.

"It is, so make yourself comfortable," replied Snape.

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This down here is just a friendly reminder telling you to review my story please and to find the quote! it would make me really happy. I start school on September 8th, so I am going to try to at least get one more chapter out before the school year begins. When that happens, It's going to be a little harder for me to update. I just wanted to tell you all that. Alright, bye

~em

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	5. Chapter 5

**Hey everyone *shyly walks out* how have you all been? Okay i am soooo sorry that it took so long for me to update. Honestly, I have no excuse other than that Junior year of High School is a bitch...especially at my school. I jut haven't had time to write, but when i did, i was suffering from writers block because my computer decided to be stupid and crash. So i literally reloaded everything, including Microsoft works, norton antivirus, my settings (screen savers: its the Dark Riders from Lord of the Rings awesome etc). I wanted to get this out to you guys as soon as possible, so I didn't really check over my grammar and everything. So I hope that you all got what you wanted for christmas. I did. I got the BBC Jane Austen movie collection, clothes, and some vera bradley stuff, and other dvds. What was your favorite gift? **

**SO without further rambling on my part, here is the next installment. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year :)  
**

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**Hermione POV**

Harry Ron and I made our way down to Hogsmeade Station, where we would board the Hogwarts Express home.

"It's so quiet," Harry commented. The normal laughter and chatter which usually pervaded the air on the train was almost nonexistent, for the students on the train were still in mourning for their headmaster, who was laid to rest earlier this morning. All three of us were in our own little world, attempting to deal with the events that were thrown at us without warning which, I admit, would have definitely been helpful.

I turned and looked at Harry, giving a weak smile, and then turned to my other side. I peered out the window and let my eyes trace the outlines of the trees as we sped by them. Like everyone else, I was lost in my own thoughts. "It's the deep breath before the plunge," I whispered in response to Harry's comment. I always knew that the time would come, yet in my heart I knew that I didn't want to be in a battle. But waiting on the edge of one I can't escape is even worse. This is the price I knew I would always pay when I became friends with Harry, and I was not about to leave him. It was my choice…no my duty to stand alongside Harry and Ron in our quest to defeat Lord Voldemort. These next few months, however I knew would not be easy. I let out a soft sigh as I began to think about all that the three of us would have to accomplish. I would be difficult to do it all while attending school, but I knew we could manage…or at least I could. Searching for the Horcruxes would be the hardest. We had very little to go on in hunt. We knew that he had made at least six Horcruxes, though we were unsure if he had reached his ultimate goal of creating seven of them. Two of them Harry and Dumbledore had destroyed already: the Ring (by Dumbledore in the summer before our sixth year) and the Diary (by Harry at the end of our second year), but there were still at least four we needed to find. The locket we definitely knew was a Horcrux, but its whereabouts were currently unknown because one R.A.B. had stolen it from its former home and put it elsewhere where we hoped it was destroyed (we still had to look for it to make sure). Helga Hufflepuff's cup and Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem were also suspected of being Horcruxes as well as Nagini, the snake. Nagini showed an unusual bond to Lord Voldemort where, even though Lord Voldemort could speak parsletonge, this should not have been a reason for the snake to do the Dark Lord's bidding unless something more sinister was at work. "We can do this," I thought to myself. "We only need to find four more." I turned my head away from the window and faced by two best friends. Harry Had moved from his previous spot next to me to across from Ron. The two were whispering urgently to each other, but stopped when the sensed I was looking. I raised one eyebrow as a silent question

"Guy stuff," stated Ron. I shrugged my shoulders; figuring noninvolvement was the best option. If what they were whispering about concerned me, I knew that they would eventually tell. I looked up out of the compartment window when I felt someone's eyes on me and smiled brightly when I realized who it was. I hastily scooted over in my seat, making room for my best girl friend, Ginny.

"Hey," she said brightly as she let herself into the compartment and plopped down next to me, extending her long legs to the seat across from her. "What's up?" she asked tilting her head in the direction of Harry and Ron who, at her arrival had looked up from their conversation, nodded their heads in silent greeting, then promptly returned to their, apparently, riveting conversation.

"I am honestly not sure," I replied. Ginny looked down at her lap and let out an almost inaudible "hmmm" before she looked back up.

"What are your plans this summer?" she asked me, tilting her head slightly. I hesitated for a second, biting my lip, wondering whether I should tell her or not. Sensing my unease, she stated comfortingly, "I'm your best friend. You can tell me anything." I nodded my head and stood up walking towards the door, where I turned and gestured for Ginny to follow.

"Where are you going?" asked Harry

"Ginny and I are going to the bathroom. Girl stuff," I said. Both Harry and Ron shared similar looks of horror at the mention of bathroom and girl stuff and hastily turned back to their conversation. I looked over at Ginny who was smirking at me with a twinkle in her eye and knew what she would say next.

"Yah girl stuff. That thing involving tampons, pads, cramps, and Midol," she said with a laugh. Both Harry and Ron proceeded to shoo us from the room, but not before Ginny managed to get in the last word "You better not treat your wives like this when you're older. Otherwise she will send you to the store, making you buy everything that she needs, not to mention you would probably be sleeping on the couch of quite awhile." Then Harry and Ron slid the door closed on her. We both turned away laughing uproariously. When we had calmed down, Ginny asked, "So what couldn't you tell me in front of them?" she asked curiously

"It's…" I hesitated looking down at the floor, "It's about my parents," I whispered the last word.

"Your parents? What about your parents?"

"It's kind of hard to talk about. See it kind of has to do with the war, and I figured that they both had enough to worry about without me contributing to it." I looked up at this point to find Ginny nodding her head slightly in agreement. "I am worried about my parents. See with this war, muggles in general are going to be targeted by the Death Eaters, and this would make me worry about their safety anyway, but because of my current status as best friend to the one Harry Potter and being the smartest witch of my age, I figured that my parents would be prime targets of Death Eater attacks. I…I am thinking about making them move to Australia."

"No offence Hermione, but I was under the impression that your parents liked it her in England. How are you going to convince them to move?"

"You're correct. They don't want to move. I tried convincing them on multiple occasions, but they just refuse to leave, which is why I was so reluctant to talk about this in front of Harry and Ron. See they have to move. There is no other option I am willing to consider, and because they decided that they won't I have to resort to…force." Ginny was looking at me with confusion and fear, but gestured for me to continue. "I…I am thinking of putting a memory charm on them," I said, "But the thing is that I've never done one before. I've thought about it for days and it's the only logical thing I can do to keep them safe," I said, choking up a little. Ginny threw her arms around me in a Weasley hug, as I let my tears fall.

"Its okay, Hermione. It's the only way to keep them safe," she said quietly in my ear. "I understand why you were wary about telling them, they would take it upon themselves to change your mind or tell you that you wouldn't be going alone. But I can see that this…that this is something that you need to do alone," she said as she rubbed by back reassuringly. I lifted by head up and nodded.

"Thanks for letting me dump on you, and thanks for listening. It's true, they would have jumped to conclusions and told me that they had a better idea for their safety, but I have to do this my way…just like it has to be Harry who defeats Voldemort." I looked at her shoulder, and let out a watery laugh "I got your clothes all wet," I said.

"Don't worry about it. I mean what are friends for other than human dumping yards and life-size tissues?" she said with a smile. "Now come on, let's get you cleaned up. You don't want to go back in with Harry and Ron looking like this. They would jump on you so fast that you wouldn't know what hit you and ask you all kinds of questions about what we were talking about, and basically making everything worse as only guys can." I nodded and took the hand she offered as she led me into the loo.

As I was washing off my face in the sink, Ginny asked "So why Australia?"

"They've always wanted to go there," I replied. "It's one of the only countries they haven't seen on their list of places to visit. I think they will like it there and…I guess I chose it because it made me feel better about what I was going to do to them. They've always wanted to go, so I figured that, in the long run, they won't be as mad at me if I sent them there. Besides, it's a far as you can possibly get from the war here in England. I just…I just hope that when it's all over that they will forgive me."

"They will, Hermione, I know they will," Ginny said seriously. She slipped her arm under my and together we happily skipped back to the train cabin we occupied. On the way back, we ran into Pansy and Blaise. I was expecting the usual insults, but with Draco gone, it seemed the usual Slytherin name-calling had been placed on hold. In fact, their greeting was as far away from Slytherin-like as I could ever imagine. We stopped in front of them.

"Hello," said Pansy tentatively. I gave her a terse nod and turned to Ginny who was staring at Blaise. He gave us both a smile and nod and both he and Pansy brushed off, but Blaise's quick wink at Ginny and her blush did not go un noticed by me.

"What was that about?" I asked out loud.

"Not sure," stated Ginny quickly. "So what else are you planning to do this summer?" she asked, trying to change the subject.

"Not so fast," I said. "What was going on between you and Blaise?"

Ginny fiddled with her fingers a little before she answered. "Well you see—the thing is—that is to say…"

"Oh just spit it out Gin," is said impatiently.

"Sincethebeginningoftheyear,," she rushed out really fast.

"Um…sorry can you repeat that please?" I asked

Ginny sighed before she answered again, this time a lot slower. "Since the beginning of the year, I have kind of liked him a lot, and I think he knows because he heard me commenting about how cute he was to Luna the other day."

"Oh. But what about Harry?" I asked.

"I decided to move on. Besides, I think about him more as a brother now than anything else. That silly school girl crush I had on him for years never went anywhere, and I guess I just grew out of it. Speaking of crushes, how is it going between you and Ron?" she asked nudging my arm.

I blushed and looked down. "It's a work in progress I answered honestly. I plan on making him notice me this coming year."

"You can do it MIONE," she said, stretching the nickname she knew I hated. "But seriously, your gorgeous, smart, not to mention a great friend. What more could he ask for? The only thing against you was your unruly head of hair, but since you've been using those spells I gave year, it looks great," she said running her fingers through my brown locks.

"Thanks Gin," I said with a smile

"So you're okay with it? Okay with me liking Blaise, I mean?" She asked worriedly.

"I wouldn't be a best friend if I didn't support you. Just be careful. Even though Malfoy…Draco has changed sides doesn't mean that all of the Slytherins have. Just be on the lookout. But yes, of course I support you."

"So its Draco now, is it?" mocked Ginny

"I figured that since he is joining the Order, we should start calling him by his first name. New beginnings and all." Ginny turned away from me laughing.

"So its Blaise now, is it?" I asked

"Touché," she said laughing. I ran to catch up and we went back to our compartment laughing, a stark contrast to minutes before.

"Where the HELL were you guys?" Harry asked angrily.

"You've been gone a bloody long time—both of you," imputed Ron.

"Oh don't go getting your kickers in a twist," said Ginny testily. We just went to the bathroom and then got to talking. It's not like we were off fighting Death Eaters and trying to get ourselves killed."

"Well you can never be too careful," grumbled Harry. "Mione, I really don't like you going off on your own."

My good mood began to disappear. "If both of you could get your heads out of your ass, you would realize that I did not go off alone. Besides I can take care of myself. I don't need you guys to protect me. I am the brightest witch of our age, and I think that this witch is smart enough to take care of HERSELF!" I shouted. "Just because I am a girl doesn't mean that I have to play the damsel in distress!"

"Come on Hermione, let's go find another compartment. I think this one got a little too full of pig-headedness for my liking," said Ginny with a sneer and a mad glint in her eye. She all but pushed me out of the door, sending dirty looks over her shoulder. When we got down the corridor, she lost it. "WHO DO THEY THINK THEY ARE?" she shouted heatedly. "They wouldn't have been able do anything throughout their time at Hogwarts if it wasn't for you. Hell they probably would have been thrown out if you didn't help with their school work!"

"It's okay Gin. Just calm down. They are smart in their own way, and they're both good wizards. It's not all because of me."

"Like hell it isn't! Next year, don't help them with ANY of their homework and see what happens."

I sighed "okay Ginny. Let's just go find ourselves another compartment since you basically just got us thrown out of our last one." We meandered around the train until we found an empty compartment and went inside. The rest of the ride back to London was uneventful. Ginny and I made plans for us to meet at the burrow in about three weeks time so we could go shopping for her brother's wedding. None too soon, the train whistled, signaling our approach to the station. I went back to the old compartment which held my stuff and ignored Ron and Harry; after all, they basically said I couldn't take care of myself without a man guarding me. "Who do they think I am!" I shouted in my head. I grabbed my Hogwarts and was one of the first people to leap on to the platform once the train had stopped. I stopped to say a quick hello to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.

"HERMIONE!" I turned to find Ron jogging up to me. "Look I'm sorry about what Harry and I said on the train. We're just worried about you that's all."

"I know Ron," I said. "But I don't need you guys to be my second parents. I need you to be my friends. I am still angry but I accept your apology. Now if you excuse me, I shall be going home now." And with that, I waved a Ginny, and turned on my heel and exited through the brick gateway. I shrunk my items and made my way into muggle London. My parents would meet me at home, figuring that, since I had just turned seventeen, I could find my own way home. I decided to wander around muggle London a little and visit some shops, enjoying the simplicity of muggle lives. I wanted to forget about everything that was happening and immerse myself for a few precious minutes in my life before I knew magic, where an evil dark lord was not rising to power nor were people dying. It was the perfect escape for me and a time where I could just relax. But it did not last as long as I hoped. For not a half an hour later, an unwanted voice interrupted my window shopping.

"Hello Hermione," said the voice. I twisted quickly towards the person who had found me with a look of shock and surprise on my face.

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**Please review and tell me what you think. More reviews= more incentive for me to update faster. I put a quote in here, but i doubt anyone can find it. I am showing my nerdy side with this one. So yah...sorry for rambling again. I hope you all liked it.**

**~em  
**


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